Sarah Higginbotham – Finding Herself in Entrepreneurship

Leaving the workforce to raise a family often sounds like a dream. But once we’ve achieved it, sometimes we feel a sense of loss, of missing challenges and successes. It’s true that domestic life can be bliss, but we also need something for ourselves—something that belongs to us as individuals, something to make us proud. For some, that may be a new pursuit: a business venture that revives our spirits and puts our old skills and talents to use again.

Before she started a family, Sarah designed and launched new software. She enjoyed the design aspects of her job, but she spent her days stuck in a cubicle, sitting at a computer. Before she had her first daughter, she and her husband sat down, calculated their finances, and agreed that Sarah could leave work to be a stay-at-home mom. The figures worked until they had another daughter and realized that kids were more expensive than they had predicted. “We had basically budgeted for diapers. We didn’t realize how the expenses grow as the children grow,” she says.

Searching for the perfect balance

Sarah set out to find a solution to their income gap. She considered going back to her old career, but she knew she wanted another baby. “So many of the part-time, work-at-home jobs required fixed hours, so I would still have had to get daycare.” After a year of looking, she was nearly ready to give in and accept the possibility of finding a traditional part-time job. She even looked at setting up an online boutique, or selling on eBay, as she had grown up in a retail environment and was no stranger to entrepreneurship.

She had always wanted to own her own business, but with young children, she decided that a “brick-and-mortar store was not what I needed. It didn’t offer enough flexibility.” Her mother had a gift store when Sarah was growing up, so she knew it required long hours, especially during holidays, when the retail sector is its busiest. And while Sarah and her siblings had been old enough to go to school when her mother opened the store, Sarah’s children were just babies, and she couldn’t bear to miss their youngest years. “I wasn’t willing to sacrifice those precious moments.”

Sarah’s three girls: Claire, Kate, and Molly.

An intriguing suggestion

During her search for a job that would meet her family’s needs, an old friend of Sarah’s, Christy Langley Jones, reached out to her about signing up as an Independent Consultant with Rodan + FieldsⓇ. But Sarah hesitated. “I had no knowledge whatsoever of the business, and I didn’t have an open mind.” Then, for more than two years, Sarah watched Christy grow her R+F business, care for her children, and hold down a full-time job. Sarah was impressed, and finally, she reached out to Christy in hopes of being able to do the same.

In January 2015, Sarah signed up as Independent Consultant. She worked very hard, and her business took off quickly. “My three-year-old was at preschool three days a week, so while the five-month-old was napping, I was working.” By her second month, her R+F earnings covered her mortgage payment. In the fifth month, she achieved Level V, and three months later she had replaced her previous corporate salary, all while working her business 10-15 hours per week.

Sarah and Stacie Carter at leader Christy Jones’ Lexus Celebration.

Enjoying the best of both worlds

These days, Sarah is financially stable and doesn’t miss her old career. “I love the freedom that my R+F business gives me. I can spend my days at the park, in the playroom, or in the backyard with the kids,” she says. Her best friend, Stacie Carter, started with Rodan + Fields six months after her, and they have kids the same age. They regularly have playdates so that they can work and the kids can play. “I never block out hours for R+F—I just fit it in around my day. The business is so family-friendly. My teammates are almost all moms or grandmas themselves.”

Sarah, John, Claire, Kate, and Molly with the new Lexus.

She named her team Team Hope for a very personal reason. “I had been a stay-at-home mom for three years when I started with Rodan + Fields. You start missing the challenges, the achievement, and the adult interaction of a working environment,” she says. Building her business alongside her team has given her a part of herself back: a sense of renewed vision and drive. It’s something that makes her incredibly proud. “Now I don’t have to sacrifice being a stay-at-home mom to achieve great things in business, so it has certainly given me hope.”

The information, materials and views provided by a Rodan + Fields Independent Consultant during this presentation are her or his own and do not necessarily represent the views of Rodan + Fields. Rodan + Fields makes no representations about the accuracy of the information. The stories shared may be atypical experiences among Consultants who join the business. Actual earnings vary significantly, and no income is promised or guaranteed. Potential Consultants are urged to perform their own due diligence prior to making any decision to participate.

For information regarding earnings under the Canada R+F Compensation Plan, see the Income Disclosure Statement. We estimate that in Canada the typical plan participant will earn between $1,700 and $2,000 CAD per year.

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The Redefine Your Future blog is a small percentage of what Consultants have achieved, but does demonstrate what is possible with Rodan + Fields. There are many ways Consultants find success and enjoyment in the business, such as attaining great skin, gaining valuable business skills, and building relationships. Disclaimer: Personal testimonials reflect individual experiences of Rodan + Fields Consultants. Rodan & Fields, LLC makes no guarantee as to the amount of income, if any, that Consultants participating in the business opportunities described on this website will generate. As with any business, each Consultant’s business results may vary, and will be based on, among other factors, such Consultant’s individual capacity, business experience, expertise, and motivation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the information on this website and are urged to perform their own due diligence prior to making any decision to enroll. For more information regarding earnings under the R+F Compensation Plan, see the Income Disclosure Statement.